It was the Sunday before Mardi Gras Day, the night of the Bacchus parade. We both found our way to a house party thrown by fellow teachers. While that might sound tame, teachers in New Orleans during Mardi Gras aren't known for temperance. We feel lucky that we remember anything about the night. We both came with friends and our friends happened to know one another (thanks Jesse and Karissa). I found Jesse, Karissa, and most importantly, Nika right before leaving the party. It was a brief conversation, but in it we said that we were going to go on the best date of our lives and then soon after we'd be boyfriend and girlfriend. Okay, in fairness I said those things and Nika rolled her eyes, but she did save her number in my phone with a heart emoji so I knew she agreed. Three weeks later we had the best (and last) first date of our lives.